medialounge at six

Morgane Stricot, conservator of media art at ZKM speaks on »Conservation of Digital Art« as part of the exhibition »Art in Motion«. 

The fact is: the ZKM is a place of experimentation within the exhibition scene, presentation and mediation. It goes without saying that the conservation of their media and digital art collection goes the same way.

The interdisciplinary team of the ZKM has always been encouraged and free to experiment with research and theories in order to then apply them hands-on to the collection. That is particularly true as the ZKM is preparing to exhibit its own media and digital art collection next year - also taking into account the exponential increase in the conservation challenges associated with this type of work of art.

The ZKM's scientific and cultural project promotes the conservation of works of art in their historical and technological context for study purposes. This historical curiosity illustrates the importance of code as a non-neutral form of expression and of materials as a testimony to alternative practices used by artists to kidnap the original purposes of certain technologies. Furthermore, it offers visitors to the ZKM the opportunity to experience concrete forms of past media in action and gives researchers an introduction to software studies, media theories and media archaeology.